I Am Alive

Someone will no doubt be along in a second to point out and existing thread. I did a search, honest!

So after loving SOS: The Final Escape and Raw Danger on the PS2 and (somewhat) looking forward to Disaster: Day of Crisis on the Wii, I was thinking how a HD version of one of these survival adventure games would be amazing. Guess what? Ubisoft seems to be making one - I Am Alive - a title which bears absolutely no similarities to I Am Legend. Honest guv.

Set in the aftermath of an earthquake in Chicago, the game will apparently feature no weapons. It looks quite intruiging, although it's far too early to tell. It could very well be another Assassins Creed *shudder* but I'm a sucker for this sort of thing.

SOS: The Final Escape is Zettai Zetsumei Toshi, right?* I LOVE that game! It's one of the first games I bought for my Japanese PS2 way back when and it's still one of my favourite games ever. We need more games that dare to be original like that. The trailer on that site certainly had a similar vibe to SOS: The Final Escape, especially with the water and the fact that there are no weapons. Sounds promising, I hope the developers look at SOS: The Final Escape for inspiration, that game was all kinds of wonderful. Like you say, a HD interpretation with next-gen physics and stuff could be very interesting indeed.

*I googled it, and it is! The western version has an extremely crap cover....

Last time I played Raw Danger it started thundering and pelting it down outside. "This is great" I thought, as I cosied up on the couch, soaking up the atmosphere. Next thing I know I'm bailing out my back yard as it filled with rain water. Turns out to be the start of the "great Hull flood" which killed a guy and left many homeless and living out of caravans.

I loved Raw Danger, the graphics and controls weren't the best (in fact, just really bad at times) but the atmosphere was second to none and it was a completely unique experience. I especially loved having to go to on fire barrels to heat up and keep yourself warm, that was very cool. It was also great playing as different characters in different scenarios which were actually different. You didn't just control different characters in the exact same story, each story/location was different.

I haven't played SOS yet but I do have the game sitting on my shelf so should do so very soon.

The thought of a more polished, high budget game like I Am Alive certainly gets me very interested!

Has anything been confirmed about the game aside from Ms Raymond's involvement?

Is it an FPS, third-person or something else? Color me curious at any rate.

I don't think even Jade Raymond is involved, that was a rumour that started on Gamekyo or something and 1Up spread it. Ubisoft released a statement about that not long after the trailer came out -

“Jade Raymond, contrary to rumors that circulated online, is not working on I Am Alive,” says Michael Beadle, a Ubisoft spokesperson who e-mailed me about the matter. “Someone posted it on a Web site in Europe. It was not true. She’s working in Montreal on projects that have yet-to-be announced.”

Does anyone know what this game's going to be about? We've seen the teaser trailer, we know it's an earthquake aftermath, but are you fighting/running away from things, or just trying to survive post-earthquake environment events like the SOS games? It looks like you'll need to find water to stay alive at least, does anyone know anything else about it?

Does anyone know what this game's going to be about? We've seen the teaser trailer, we know it's an earthquake aftermath, but are you fighting/running away from things, or just trying to survive post-earthquake environment events like the SOS games? It looks like you'll need to find water to stay alive at least, does anyone know anything else about it?

It's a first person action adventure(?) with you playing as a survivor searching for his girlfriend as well as looking for supplies, weapons, food, water, etc.

Spoiler

As Adam you're out to find your missing girlfriend and gain the attention of a silent government task force, which may or may not have something to do with the Dharma Initiative (not really).

"In I Am Alive, we're not only turning your everyday life upside down; we're also changing the very social values and rules that both everyday life and videogames rely on." producer Alexis Goddard gushes in the mag.

On opting for a first-person view, he adds: "We wanted the player to really feel the power of Mother Nature, to feel the danger coming from the collapsing towers and devastating rifts, feel the chaos happening all around him. There's nothing like a first-person view to create that kind of emotion."

The focus of the I Am Alive will be on obtaining items necessary for survival, says the producer, such as the water, weapons and ammo - the later of which will be a rare find...

"We encourage the players to use tactics, diversion, and discretion," Goddard says of the game's combat. "You've found a police shotgun, which is out of bullets -- rightfully so, since Chicago has long been a proponent of a ban on guns. How about some intimidation? After all, who knows the gun is empty but you? Just point it at looters and they'll remain at a distance as you progress toward your objective. However, you can only aim it at one person, so you have to watch for being flanked."

This is all based on info from 2009 and we know that Ubi have since reworked the title, so no-one really knows if the core game is still the same.

Anyway, looks like it's definitely coming this year but it's no longer a retail title...

Ubisoft’s earth-shattering action-survival game I Am Alive, originally announced in 2008, has remained silent since its formal introduction to the world. It shouldn’t remain that way for long.

During a recent video-cast at JeuxVideo, Ubisoft Toronto managing director, Jade Raymond, told the site that I Am Alive will (finally) release this year. The game won’t debut at retail, as originally planned, but instead will release on digital platforms (PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade).

Raymond said that Ubisoft doesn’t have much faith in the title, which is why they’ll release it digitally.

Hm sad to see it being handled this way. Does this mean the game will suck or that it is simply too different from most 'popular' games? Or is this simply an excuse to push the digital distribution of triple-A titles?

Hm sad to see it being handled this way. Does this mean the game will suck or that it is simply too different from most 'popular' games? Or is this simply an excuse to push the digital distribution of triple-A titles?

I hate to say it, but it's probably because it sucks. Ubi might have decided to cut their losses and not spend any more than they have to. Pure guesswork though and hopefully wrong as the trailer Vemsie posted looks pretty good and we rarely see games that place during/just after an earthquake.

Last one was Disaster on Wii if I'm not mistaken, always liked the look of it but not enough to buy a Wii just to play it.